PHOENIX – A new coalition announced that it was starting a petition drive today on the GetEQUAL website calling on the Southern Baptist Convention to apologize for the harm its teachings have caused the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The petition will be hand-delivered following an 8 A.M. ‘Teach-In’ outside the SBC’s annual meeting in Phoenix on Wednesday, June 15, a day that marks the 16th anniversary of that religious group’s historic apology to African Americans for supporting slavery and Jim Crow laws.

“We call on the Southern Baptist Convention to stop misusing the Bible to promote religion-based bigotry and start recognizing the enormous pain and suffering caused by its mistreatment of LGBT people, particularly vulnerable youth,” said Dr. Jack McKinney, a former Southern Baptist minister and spokesperson for Faith in America. “History has not been kind to the Southern Baptist Convention’s record on minorities and it is making the same awful mistake today by perpetuating abuse against gay people.”

“The anti-gay teachings of the Southern Baptist church nearly led me to suicide,” said Dr. Jerry Stephenson, a former Southern Baptist minister and board member for Truth Wins Out. “I entered an ‘ex-gay’ ministry that falsely claimed I could change my sexual orientation and this led to a deep depression. Only after I accepted my true self was I able to reconcile my faith and sexual orientation. The Southern Baptist Convention needs to apologize because its policies are hurting real people.”

Indeed, the Southern Baptist Convention is one of the nation’s leading promoters of the so-called “ex-gay” industry, which browbeats people into attempting to “pray away the gay.” Bob Stith, national strategist for gender issues and the representative of the Task Force on Ministry to Homosexuals, leads the SBC’s “ex-gay” program. Last week, Stith harshly criticized President Barack Obama for issuing a “Lesbian Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month” proclamation.

Today’s petition drive is being organized by the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, Believe OutLoud, Faith in America, GetEQUAL, Soulforce and Truth Wins Out.

“We strongly urge the Southern Baptist Convention to end the harm it is causing the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community by offering a sincere and heartfelt apology,” reads a letter that petition signers will send to the SBC’s leadership. “Instead of SBC churches fostering parents’ love for their gay children, anti-gay attitudes promoted from pulpits are causing youth to be cast off by their families and become homeless. The church walls should be a refuge, not a place where vulnerable LGBT youth are often rejected and mistreated.”

“We urge everyone to sign our petition, pass it along to friends, and post it on websites and social networks,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director, Wayne Besen. “Additionally, if you are in the Phoenix area, we hope that you will consider joining our protest and petition delivery. It is critical that we stand up to religion-based bigotry and point out the destructive nature of anti-LGBT prejudice and discrimination.”

We will announce further details later this week on the direct action and petition delivery in Phoenix.

I was a member of a southern baptist church when I was a teen. At first, it was fun – attending bible camps, missionary trips, going to summer bible school, singing in the choirs… But then I started asking questions about things in the bible that seemed to conflict with each other. This is also when I started feeling attraction towards other females, as well as men, which really confused me. All I was told by my youth minister, pastor, and sunday school teachers was that homosexuality was a sin, I shouldn’t doubt the word of god, and should pray to god to cast the devil out of my life and to help strengthen my faith. >_>

I’m nearly 34 now, and have only recently “found” myself completely and accepted who I am (a pansexual, bi-gendered person). If I had stayed in the church, I would be a very unhappy woman right now – to say the least.

MichaelJune 8, 2011 at 8:37 pm -

The false prophet leaders of the SB’s constantly demonize, attack and revile gay American families and taxpayers in order to hide their unwillingness and impotence in tackling REAL problems like the adultery and fornication that’s rampant among heterosexuals. Get out of our bedrooms and lives and stop mocking Christ by smearing His face with the darkness and shame of homophobia!

MerlynJune 9, 2011 at 11:52 am -

I signed, but it should be interesting to see if those nimrods act on the petition. My guess is that they won’t because they revel in the chance to spread hatred against those of whom they do not approve. This is their way of life, sadly.

However, getting any form of apology from the SBC is rather wishful thinking. It took over 150 years to apologize for slavery which proved that the SBC is a dimwitted lot.

One of the most egregious things they should apologize for is kicking PWAs out of their homes while they were sick and dying! In my mind, it would be very difficult for me to accept an apology for that horrendous sin. As a long-time volunteer for the San Francisco AIDS Emergency Fund, I saw people literally dying in the streets while the Christian Right, (and esp. the SBC) was DANCING in the streets.

I just can’t forgive that.

Richard RushJune 9, 2011 at 9:55 pm -

I signed, but the only thing I expect to come out of it is that each of us will now be on SBC’s email list where we will be spammed with Christian propaganda. (I’m assuming they will get our email addresses, but I don’t know that for a fact.)

iDavidJune 10, 2011 at 4:01 pm -

@Muir,

Congrats on your resolution. Unfortunately it is really in the best interest of gay people to find a religion or church that does not promote violence, a thing in which Christianity has always been based throughout history on many subjects.

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An apology is one thing. A restructuring of the thinking is quite another, however an apology is a start.

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Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that fights the "ex-gay" myth and antigay religious extremism.

TWO monitors anti-LGBT organizations, documents their lies and exposes wrongdoing. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for truth, integrity, and equality for sexual minorities.